Apparatus for handling solid material



April 2, 1929. F. B. ALLEN 1,707,343

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING SOLID MATERIAL Filed Oqt. 1927. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR I ms AT:?0RNEYS P 1929- I F. B. ALLEN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING'SOLiD MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR W Ammw his A ORNEYS Patented A.. .2,1929. 1,707,343

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK B. ALLEN, OF LOWER MARION TOWNSHIP, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYL- VANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE ALLEN-SHERMAN-HOFF COM- IPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING SOLID MATERIAL.

Application filed October 7, 1327. Serial No. 224,558.

This invention relates to apparatus for upon which the discharged doors are adapted handling solid material and is particularly to slide. applicable to the removal of ashes and slag As shown in Figure 2, the number of doors from under boiler furnace and the like. is one greater than the number of discharge One object of the present invention is to openings, being in the example shown, four provide means for discharging solid material doors 27 28, 29 and for three openings, from hoppers, bins, and the like, by which the each door comprising a metal frame 31 and 60 discharge may be effected with the expendia refractory lining 32, and being provided on ture of very little energy. Its side edges with outwardly extending 10 Other objects will hereinafter appear. flanges 33 which rest upon the rollers 26. The invention itself will be better under- The bottoms of these doors are provided with stood from the description of one practical racks 34, engaged by pinions carried on G5 embodiment thereof, illustrated in the ac- Shafts 36 which extend to the exterior of the companying drawings, in which; chamber and may be rotated by handles 37 1 Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view of The operation of the device is as follows: an ash hopper and ash conveying means of Starting with the discharge openings a boil furna and closed and door 27 below the opening 11, door Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional View 28 below openmg 10, door 29 below opening taken on the line IIII of Figure 1. 9, and door 30 in the extreme left hand cor- 20 In Figure 1 the bottom of the furnace is nor of the transferring chamber, the operator shown as consisting of downwardly convergturns the handle 37 positioned to the exing water walls 1 and 2 supported on floor treme left as seen in Figure 1, and by so ,beams 3 and pillars 4, from which furnace doing moves door 27'to the position shown bottom the ashes drop into an ash receiving m Figure 2, thus opening discharge opening 25 and collecting hopper having side walls 5 11 and allowlng the ashes to drop thereand 6 and end walls 7 and 8, its bottom being through upon feed plate 1 1. He next operates I provided with three discharge openings 9, the second handle 37 and by so doing moves 10, and 11, provided with moveable closure to door 28 from beneath opening 10 to beneath be hereinafter described. opening 11, the ashes above opening 10 fall- 30 Beneath the discharge openings 9, 10, and ing therethrough upon the feed plate 13. He

1.1 are inclined feed plates, 12, 13, and 14, then operates the next handle 37, and moves respectively, along which the ashes may be door 29 from beneath opening 9 to beneath 5 conveyed by jets 15 of water or the like to a opening 10, allowing the ashes above opening conveying sluiceway 16, along which sluice- 9 to drop upon feed plate 12. He next opway they may be propelled byfjets of water crates the last handle 37 and moves door 30 delivered through nozzles 17. to close opening 9. In this operation he has A transferring chamber is formed by the discharged ashes above each of the discharge on sluicewa-y, feed plates, discharged openings openings and in so doing has expended only vertical walls 18 and 19, horizontal wall 20 suflicient energy to move four doors slightly i0 andan inclined wall'joining walls 18 and further than their lengths, while with prior 20 and provided with access doors 21. The types of doors he would have had to move space between this chamber and'the bottom each door to its open position and then re- 5 of the ash hopper is closed by beams 22 and turn it to closed position, making a total, 23 which support the'bottom of the ash hopfor three discharge openings, of six opera 45 per, and the ends of the chamber are closed tions each requiring him to move a door by walls 24: and 25, inclined so that, while for at least its own length. From this it will the bottom of thechamber is substantially be seen that the energy required in discharg- 1 o the same shape and size as the bottom of the ing the ashes from the hopper is greatly reash hopper, the top extends beyond the ends duced, in the example described the operator 5 of the hopper a distance at each end greater 'would need to expend 50% more energy to than the length of one discharge opening. operate doors of prior types over that re- Upon the inner surfaces of beams 22 and quired in-the application of the present in- 23 are journalled a plurality of rollers 26 vention.

\Vhile the precise details of the embodiment herein illustrated has been described in some detail, obviously many variations and modifications may readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not therefore limit myself to precise details disclosed but'claim as my invention all the embodiments eomingvwithi the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A hopper bearing a plurality of alined discharge openings, a plurality of closures for said openings the number of closures being one more than the number of openings, means for moving a closure from beneath one end opening, means for successively moving each succeeding closure from beneath one opening to beneath the next adjacent opening, and means for moving the last closure to close the last openin 2. A hopper having a plurality of alined discharge openings, a series of translatable closures therefor movcable along the common center line of the discharge openings, the number of closures of the series being one more than the number of the openings, and a plurality of means each capable of moving a closure from beneath one discharge opening to beneath the adjacent discharge opening.

3. A hopper having a plurality of alincd discharge openings, horizontally disposed guides extending in the direction of the common center line of said openings and at the sides thereof, a plurality of gates slidable on said guides,'the number of gates being one greater than the number of openings, and a plurality of moving means one for each gate, each capable of moving the gate along the guide in either direction a distance of that between the centers of adjacent discharge openings.

4. The method of controlling the discharge of material from a receptacle having a plurality of discharge openings, which coinprises, first removing a closure from one opening, then removing the closure from the adj acent opening and placing the same closure in position to close the first opening, repeating this operation until the last opening has been opened, and then closing the last opening with an additional closure. I

In testimony'whereof I hereunto afiix my signature this 4th day of October, 1927.

' FRANK B. ALLEN.

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